Knife



' A. TEMPE Aug. 15,1950

KNIFE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 6, 1946 Aug. 15, 1950 A. TEMPE2,518,838

8 KNIFE Filed June e, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 flnire fmpe Patented Aug.15, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE s 2,518,838 V t KNIFE Andre Tempe,West Orange, N. J.

Application J true 6, 1946, Serial No. 674,900 1 Claim. (cum-58) Q Thepresent invention relates to improvement in knives intended for use inScotch tape dispensing machines.

The purpose of the knives herein disclosed is to ;provide,means forsevering the Scotch tape from the-feed roll of the machine when it is:desired to detach a given portion of the: length of the tape. 1

.blade. i Another object thereof is to provide a simple,

efficient and inexpensive cutting member for a tape dispensing machinewhich has the desired characteristics of sturdiness, dependability andease in extricating itself 'from'the sticky or gummy surface of thetape;

A further object thereof is to provide a knife for the purpose set forthin which a plurality of abutting phonograph needles is provided forpenetration with their sharp points into the sticky texture of theScotch tape which adheres toithe feed roll into one of the peripheralgrooves of which the knife retractedly extends;

A still further object thereof is to provide a specially shaped knifefor use in a tape dispensing machine designed with the idea in 'view ofadapting it'to penetrate the gummy tape known I .as Scotch tape withoutsticking to the severed parts thereof after the cutting operation iscompleted by the knife. I have found in practice that a series ofclosely contiguous phonograph needles with sharp points is best fittedto engage the sticky material of this kind of tape because the severalpoints can separately be retracted from the sticky tape at the sametime'by one cutting stroke of the knife more readily because presentinginappreciable surfaces which would not be the case if a straight edgedknife blade were used. In the latter case, the entire surface of theedge of the cutting knife would engage at all points the sticky materialof the tap during the cutting operation with the result that-at timesthe severed portions of the tape would cling onto the knife after thesame is retracted out of cutting position withrespect to the feed roll.

Another object thereof is to provide varied types of multipoint cuttingknives for interchangeable use in the tape dispensing machine.

The knife in each case, composed of the multiplicity of phonographneedles or'th'e like has a .cutting stroke imparted to it in the machinethat directs it to enter any of a circumferentially .or the like.

With a cutter as'herein disclosed in at least one embodiment thereof,when one portion of the cutter becomes dull the cutter can be shiftedorturned to bring into operative position a new or sharp cuttingportion; A knife of this kind will therefore provide a longer usefullife tha one having onl one cutting portion.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in thearrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in thedrawings and specification, and then more particularly pointed out inthe appended claim.

, In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters designatesimilar parts throughout the respective views, Figure 1 is a plan view,partly in section of th knife, forming the main part of my invention, 7

Figure 2 is a cross section taken on line 2-2 of Figure l, e 1

Figure 3 is a cross section taken on line 3-3- of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a section taken on line i4 of ure 1,

Figure 5 is an end elevation of a modified form of my invention,

Figure 6 is a fragmentary section taken online 6-6 of Figure 5, I r aFigure 7 is an end elevation of a bushing flange, Figure 8 is a frontend elevation of a mandrel, Figure 9 is a fragmentary view showing inend elevation a modified form of knife,

Figure 10 is a fragmentary side view of a wheel 1 carrying the knife,

Figure 11 is an end view of a mandrel, showing it partly broken away todisclose the anchorage for the pointed needles forming the cutter,

Figure 12' shows another modification of my invention,

Figure 13' is a transverse section of another modification of thisinvention, and

Figure 14 is a fragmentary front elevation of a further modification ofthis invention.

In the drawings, which are merely illustrative of my invention, all theparts of my invention are disclosed.

In the type of machine to which my knife appertains, there is shown afeed roll, intermittently rotated by an operating lever, all as setforth in my patent application on the machine hereinbefore adverted to.The Scotch tape as it is fed along the machinecofi the tape reel iswound up upon the afeed'roll and adheres to same in doing so. When thefeed roll is intermittently rotated any given number of times it can bemade to deliver a determinate portion of the length of the tape desired.The knife performs the function of penetrating the gumm or stickymaterial of the tape while the latter is adhering to the periphery ofthe feed roll which carries the tape forwardly. It does this in order tocut off the desiredportion of tape from the remainder of the tape on thetape reel.

In" order to'facilitate severing of the tape at the" desired point onthe periphery of the feed roll, it isnecessary to cut the tape in such amanneras to minimize sticking of the severed portions of the tape stillon the feed roll upon the cutting parts of the knife. For this purposethe knife of my design present a plurality of closely contiguoussharppoints for penetration of the sticky tape material to sever itimmediately, and to permit removal ofthe knife to inoperative positionwithout any part'of the tape sticking to it.

In Figure l is disclosed a particular movable framein which'my knife ismounted. This is the frame forming part of the complete Scotchtapedispensing machine. This frame consists of apair of oppositelyarranged arms H], II having bars I2 and is secured thereto upon theirouter sides. Screws M arethreaded through'the bars l2 and I3 intotheframe arms Ill and H, while the-heads'l5 of the screws arecountersunk into the bars; This serves to unite the frame arms andbars-together in removable relation. There is a cross bar l1 connectingtogether at opposite ends the arms and'bars so they project in parallelrelation at right angles to said cross bar. On arm II is apin I5 whichis'engagedby a cam on the machine for imparting movement to the frame tomake the -knife support an operating stroke'of' cutting the tape.

The knife mounted upon the-frame carries out the multi-point idea of myinvention. It consists of a plurality of longitudinally extendingphonograph needles having very sharp points. These needlesaredesignated'zll and their sharp points are designated 2!, the tipsthereof being denoted at 22.

A block IS has a mortised fit in the central part of the cross bar l'l'.The bar has the mortise l8 receiving the block snugly therein so'it iscompletely housed therein. Tie bolts 23 pass through the block and bar Ii to clamp these parts secure- 1y together against the inter-posed rowof phonograph needles Zl! as shown in Figure 3. For this purposecomplemental semispherical depressions are formed as a continuous rowupon both bar and clock. Those of the 'bar are designated l9b and thoseon the block Ma. The shanks of the needles 2G repose in thesesemispherical depressions which close against opposing halves of thediameters of the needles. In this manner the needles are c am ed inposition in the frame.

It will be seen that the inner ends of all of the needles 2IJ terminatein lon itudinal alignment in the frame, and-fthat .the shank of allneedles are in closely abutting relation for the entire row of needles.The row of needles extends longitudinally between arms I6 and H. InFigure 1 it appears that the needles 20 are of varying lengths and thatthey are arranged in the frame in such a manner that their points 2|form an arcuate cutting edge along the length of the knife thuscomposed. Therefore, the center needle is the longest and the needlesrecede inwardly from this center needle until the shortest ones are atthe ends of the row. 54 designates the V-shaped notches interveningbetween the needle points 21.

In Figure 12 is illustrated a modified form of my invention. Here aseries or row of phonograph needles are mounted in closely contiguousorder abuttingly upon a mandrel 250, which is bored out as at 45. Theseveral needles are shown formed with reduced inner ends 45providing'annular shoulders 46 hereat. The outer surface of the mandrelis correspondingly formed with l'inearly arranged rows of phonographneedle receiving notches. The reduced inner ends 35 of the needles 33are snugly fitted into the notches of the mandrel so that theirshoulders rest upon: the periphery of the latter. The needlesare'retained by friction in the mandrel. In this form of myinvention theneedles are also shown to be of varying lengths with the longest needlearranged at the center of the mandrel. The entire line of needlepointsis acurved arcuate one,'convex with-respectito the axis of the mandrel;

In Figure 5, another form of my invention is disclosed. In-this-type;the cutting device is designed vto be mounted also'upon a mandrel but nolonger are linear'rows' ofneedlesemployed but radiating needles arrangedP in" a circular row. Figuredshowslthe mannerof assembling these variousparts. The mandrel-is of the lever type, being .denoted'at 28; Themandrel is formed with acoaxial forwardly: extending screw'bolt 29 whosefront'sfa'ce is designated 27. This boltisscrew threaded along itslength.

A bushing this employedwhich is formed with abase fiange'3l at'rone"endand with upsettable fingers or arms-35 at its-other end. The bushing30 fits around ithe'screw'bolt 29 and has its base flange-3i abuttingthe'shoulder of the mandrel 26 formed by reducing the diameter'of thescrew bolt-29; The base flange 3| of the'bushing is formed with-,acircumferential series of holes 32. Themandrel has a pin 33 arrangedflush with its peripheral edge as shown in Figure 8. When. the baseflange 3Iof bushing 30 is presented in abutting'relation with themandrel '26, the pin 33 of thelatter takes into one of the-"holes 32 ofthe base flange of the bushing.

Aplurality-of-phonograph needles or similar pointed members 38areemployed for the purpose of being arranged into wheel formation asshown in'Figure-5. A-disk'SIa has an operiing'through which bushing 30projects so as to mount the disk .upon this bushing; The inner'ends ofthe needles 38 are interposed between the base flange 3| of-the bushingand this disk 3min such a manner that the needles. are-clampedtherebetween-frictionally; Initially; the upsettable fingers 35 of thebushing are brought back into contacting engagement with disk 3la so asto close the disk against" the needles 33. The

needles, thus initially inserted between the disk 31a and" the baseflange 3! as between oppositely arrangedretaining walls, may nowmanually or otherwise be distributed so that while their innermost endscontactftheperiphery of the bushing 'llljtheir shanks will be caused tobe spread apart sets to radiate like spokes from a wheel. The inner endsof these needles 38 abut as at 55a, but each pairof successive needlesdivergeoutwardly from the bushing,*leaving elongated V-shaped spaces 55between the several needles 38. The needles having thus been properlyspread apart and anchored between the flange 3| and the disk 31a, awasher 36 is slid over the screw bolt 29, and made to contact thefingers 35 of the bushing 30. Then anut 3'! is screwed home on the screwbolt 29, and clamps against the fingers 35 and causes these fingers tobe solidly mashed against the disk 31a, which in turn presses againstall of the needles 38 with a clamping action. In this manner all of theneedles are anchored in position.

' In Figure 11 a mandrel 26a is providedlwith linear rows of thephonograph or other needles, which rows of needles form a scanty numberof radiating sets upon the periphery of the mandrel, three sets beingillustratedin Figure 11. The needles 43 comprising each linear set havetheir sharplmints arranged in convex disposition with respect to theaxis of the mandrel 26a. 'These needles have their inner reduced ends 45anchored firmly and removably into the mandrel peripheral surface, orthey may be screwed in if desired.

In Figure 9 another modified form of my invention is disclosed. Themandrel 26 is of the same form of construction as is shown in Figure 6.However, as shown in Figure 10, the circumferentially extending seriesof radially disposed needles 42 which radiate from the mandrel areformed integrally or cast in one piece with a wheel or disk 4|. Thiswheel has a central opening 4la, through which the screw bolt '2lprojects to properly center the wheel upon the mandrel.

The screw bolt 27 forms a coaxial continuation of the mandrel here as inFigure 6. A washer 35 is mounted upon the screw bolt and bears directlyagainst the wheel or disk 4|. A nut 31 screws home upon this bolt forjamming the washer against the wheel, and the wheel against the mandrelendwise of the latter.

The use and operation of my invention is as follows.

It will be understood, as reference to the disclosure in my divisionalapplication for patent on the complete machine assembly will reveal,hereinbefore adverted to, that any of the types of knives illustrated inthe drawings are used in connection with the feed roll of the machine,which feed roll is itself covered by another divisional patentapplication of mine filed of even date with the application ontheeomplete machine assembly.

The feed roll is formed with parallel rows of annularv groovesperipherally thereof, and also with transversely disposed grooves orslots which intersect the annular grooves. In this manner spaced apartlugs are provided upon the feed roll and bridged across these insuccession peripherally of the roll is a longth of Scotch tape beingunwound from the tape reel which is mounted at the rear end of themachine.

When the actuating crank handle of the machine turned, a portion of thetape unwound from the reel is wound up upon the feed roll, and is inflat contact therewith. The depressible frame for the knife shown inFigure l is located on the machine in a position where the row of n e edle points may be thrust into any of the transfeed roll, across which aportion of the tape to be severed is bridged. The frame is depressed,and the'phonograph needles are brought down into a slot and caused topenetrate the transverse line of the bridged portion cfthe tape, on thefeed roll The needle points separatelyenter the material of the stickgummed tape, and all of them at the sametime perforate the tape but atthe sametime-spread 'out the perforations until they merge with oneanother to completely sever the -tapej From Figure 1 it is seen that thetaperingfendsfzl of the needle points act as spreaders'to enlarge theholes made in the tape by the points 22 of the needles. The separatepoints also are able effectively to extricate themselves from the stickymaterial of the tape quickly, without lifting the tape in adheringrelation.

Thetapes' come in varying widths and the feed roll will accommodate allsuch varying widths. The arcuate line of needle pcintspresented by someof the types of knives illustrated in the drawings, which is convex withrespectto the base line of these needles, is made to serve the office ofincreasing the spreading action of the needles at the center of the tapeto be severed and decreasing the amountofspreading done-on the holes bythe needle points forming same at the ends of the tape. It is evidentthat the descent of the knife composed of such arcuate series of needlesraises the end needle points above the tape slightly with respect to theneedles in the center which fully penetrate the tape.

This results in quickly retracting the needles from the tape after therequired portion thereof has been detached because the margins of thetape would ordinarily be stripped off from the feed roll more rapidlythan the center portion, and so at the margins frictional engagement ofthe knife is at a minimum.

There is also provided a type of knife in which phonograph needles arenot employed. Instead there is illustrated a row of individual cuttingpoints formed upon rods, or else upon wheels, as may be desired. Thecharacteristic of this type of cutter is that each separate pointedelement consists of a two-faced member. The oppositely inclined faces 49and 50 of each cutting element converge peripherally to form cuttingedges 55. The points of these elements are designated 53 and the sametapering surfaces thereof are provided as are provided upon the pointsof the phonograph needles. Here however, the oppositely arranged sidesor faces 5|, 52 of the cutting elements converge to form the taperingportions. This form of knife operates in the same way already explainedin connection with the phonograph needles.

In Figure 6 is shown a type of cutter where the mandrel 26 upon whichthe needles are mounted has a swinging action instead of a reciprocatingone as is true of the frame shown in Figure 1. Lowering of the levermandrel results in depressing the row of needles into the requiredtransverse slot of the feed roll; the mandrel could be made to rotate asit swings downwardly to position the cutter in the slot.

The form of cutter mounting shown in Figures 6 and 9 is such that entryof the pin 33 of the mandrel into any of the openings 32 of thecentering flange or disk of the needle carrier prevent independentrotation of the mandrel with respect to the carrier and vice versa. InFigure 6 it is seen that by removing the nut 31, sufficient friction canbe taken off the disk 3|a that binds against the needles to permit anyof the latter to be removed.forsreplacement purposes In Figure 3 :byremoving the :block .I9the needles can also beieasily removed.- Wherethe cylindrical row'iofphonograph needles mounted wheel-like isusedaso-shown in Figure 5,-the-same gradu ated depth of penetration of thesuccessive needle points is had as has been hereinbefore described sincethe teeth everywhere on th peripheryof the mandrel present arcuate linesofneedle points.

InFigures 11 and 13 thetype of knife shown lends itself to intermittentrotation to present any of the successive rows.- of needle pointsagainst the tape to be severed. Intermittent feed means is presentinwthe complete machineefor this purpose.

IrdQ nOt mean to confine'myself to the-exact details of constructionherein disclosed but claim all: variations falling within the purviewfthe appended claim. I

What I desire'to claim and secure by patent is:

In combinationwith a mandrel, a screw bolt formed as a coaxial reducedcontinuation "there of,: a bushing having abase flange-said bushingsurrounding. the screw bolt with its base flange abutting vthe mandrelendwise, said mandrel and base fiangehaving-a spin and holexconnection.to prevent independent rotation of the bushing upon the screw bolt, adisk fitting saidbushing, a circu: lar-series of phonograph needleshaving their in: ner ends seated upon said bushing held between the basefiange and-thedisk, said bushing having upsettablearms-bent back againstsaiddisk to retain said disk upon the bushing, and a nut screwing homeon said screw bolt and abutting the upsettable arms to clampv the-sameagainst the disks vr ANDRE lEMPE.

REFERENCES'. CITED The following referencessare of record file of this:patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,958,694 Chandler 'May 15, 193.4

